Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute Partners with A Safe Haven Foundation to Spread Awareness and Educate Vulnerable Populations about the Signs of Stroke

Chicago, IL, January 16, 2015 – Over the next three years, A Safe Haven will partner with a team of physicians to spread awareness and educate residents about the signs of stroke and the best ways to respond to symptoms of a suspected stroke. The project, which is part of a larger initiative by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), is designed to target minority communities as research has found that strokes are more common and more severe amongst minority groups- particularly African Americans and Hispanics- as they are less likely to go to the hospital in time to receive treatment that can lessen the damage of the stroke.

“It’s very concerning that strokes disproportionately effect minority communities and given that a majority of A Safe Haven clients are African American and Hispanic, this initiative will provides us with a much needed opportunity to inform our residents and larger community about the dangers of ignoring signs of a stroke,” said A Safe Haven President and Co-Founder, Neli Vazquez Rowland.

The lead physician and A Safe Haven advocate, Neurologist Dr. Neelum T. Aggarway from Rush Medical Center’s Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, will work with ASH to empower medical teams to work with aldermen, church leaders, schools, and hospitals on the city’s South and West sides to spread awareness about the signs of stroke and the importance of calling 911 immediately if they, or a loved one, is showing signs of a stroke. Rush neurologist Neelum T. Aggarwal reports that researchers will be conducting a study concurrently to better understand “how social and psychosocial risk factors impact stroke symptom recognition and action.”